Podiatric Medicine
Podiatric medicine is an interesting health professional field that
should be considered by the pre-health professional student as a
potential career choice. Many students are not familiar with this area
of medicine and should take the opportunity to explore its relationship
to other health care fields.
Podiatric medicine (or podiatry) is that medical profession which deals
with the examination, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases
and disorders of the feet. The podiatrist, or Doctor of Podiatric
Medicine (DPM), is licensed to perform essentially any treatment to
that area of the anatomy that may be performed or prescribed by an MD.
Presently, podiatrists are licensed to practice in all fifty states,
the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The various states do differ
somewhat in the limits in the practice of podiatry. Some allow the DPM
to practice only on the foot itself, while others allow the knee to be
included.
Qualifications for Application
Preparation for entry into a college of podiatric medicine is
similar
to that of medicine or dentistry. The general admissions to the
colleges of podiatric medicine are that one must have completed at
least three (3) years or ninety (90) semester hours of college credit
at an accredited institution, i.e. be of JUNIOR academic status.
Although, many successful applicants to
colleges of podiatric medicine
have the BS degree. In recent years, a number of ISU students have
gained entry to a podiatry school after only 3 years of college work.
The minimum
semester credit hour
requirements for all of the colleges of podiatric medicine include the
following pre-requisites: (all
Science
courses require a lab)
Biology
8-12
semester hours
Chemistry
(General or Inorganic) 8
semester hours
Organic Chemistry
8
semester hours
Physics
8
semester hours
English
6-8
semester hours
Other requirements for admission include letters of recommendation, official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions previously attended, which are to be sent DIRECTLY to the colleges.A personal interview will be scheduled by each college. In addition, the MCAT, GRE or DAT is required for admission.
Admission Tests
In addition to completing pre-podiatic course requirements, all
applicants must take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), the
Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Dental Admissions Test (DAT). For the
specific admissions tests required by the indivual colleges, call or
visit their website linked to AACPM's website http://www.aacpm.org/
Centralized Application Service (AACPMAS)
All U.S. podiatric medical colleges who are members of AACPM participate in the American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine Application Service (AACPMAS). Application materials may be obtained from the following address. The application may also be dowloaded from the AACPM website (below).
American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine
Application Service (AACPM)
15850 Crabbs Brach Way, Suite 320
Rockville, MD 20855
(301) 990-6882 (inside MD)
1-800-922-9266
http://www.aacpm.org
American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA)
http://www.apma.org
Application Procedure
To initiate the process of application to any of the colleges of podiatric medicine, the prospective applicant must obtain an application packet for AACPMAS (see the address and/or website above). A single application form is submitted to AACPMAS to apply to any one or all of the colleges of podiatric medicine who are members of AACPM. The absolute deadline for application is August 15 of the year of entry. The applicant is strongly urged to submit the application EARLY, however; as early as September of the year prior to entering the college of podiatric medicine. This was increase your chances of admission to the school of your choice.
Interview with a College of Podiatry
An interview at the individual school will be required of the successful applicant. If travel to the school will create a financial hardship, some schools may make arrangements for a local DPM to conduct the interview. Such arrangements must be made on an individual basis, however, and are not guaranteed.
Reciprocal Agreements
Podiatry is one of the health professional areas which is included in the reciprocal support agreement of the WICHE organization. Unfortunately, at this time Idaho does not support podiatry students as a part of the WICHE program. The applicant who is a resident of one of the other western states which is a member of the WICHE organization should consult a current information booklet from WICHE to determine if podiatry students are supported. WICHE addresses, both the Idaho office and the central office can be obtained from the Chair of the ISU Health Professions Advisory Committee.
Acceptance to College of Podiatric Medicine
Applicants are notified of acceptance throughout the academic year prior to the fall in which school begins. Early application will result in early notification.
Acceptance Information
In the past twenty years, ISU has had 28 students who have applied for admission to colleges of podiatric medicine. All 28 students were admitted. Schools who have accepted these students are the Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine, California College of Podiatric Medicine, the College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery (Des Moines), the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine, and the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine.
Additional Information
The following is a listing of the colleges of podiatric medicine in the U.S.
Barry University School
of Podiatric Medicine
Barry University
11300 NE Second Avenue
Miami Shores, FL 33161
(305)899-3130
1-800-695-2279
www.barry.edu
California School of Podiatric Medicine at Samuel Merritt
College
370 Hawthorne Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
1-510-869-6511
1-800-607-6377
Fax 1-510-869-6525
www.samuelmerritt.edu
College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery
at Des Moines University
(University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Science, formerally)
3200 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50312
1-515-271-1538
www.dmu.edu/cpms
Dr. William M. Scholl
College of Podiatric Medicine at Finch University of Health Sciences
Chicago Medical School
3333Green Bay Road
North Chicago, IL 60064
1-847-578-8400
1-800-843-3059
www.rosalindfranklin.edu/
New York College of Podiatric Medicine
1800 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10035
1-800-526-6966 ext 8098
www.nycpm.edu
Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine
10515 Carnegie Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106
(216)231-3300
1-800-238-7903
www.ocpm.edu
Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine
Eighth at Race Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
1-215-625-5448
1-800-220-3338
http://podiatry.temple.edu
Additional information of a general and specific nature is available from the following address:
American Association of College of Podiatric Medicine
1350 Piccard Drive, Suite 322
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 1-800-922-9266